For the second straight year, Georgia Northwestern Technical College student Elisabeth Harp has been named one of the best in the nation in her field.

After placing third in Georgia in Networking Concepts at the state level of the Phi Beta Lambda Skills Competition this past spring, the Calhoun, Ga. native placed eighth nationally in the category this summer at the 2017 Phi Beta Lambda National Competition in Anaheim, Ca.

In 2016, Ms. Harp placed eighth in the Computer Concepts category at the national competition held in Atlanta. This year, she and 10 of her fellow national qualifiers from Georgia Northwestern would make the trek to California to show off their skills.

However, Ms. Harp was not the only two-time qualifier from GNTC. Corey Carlile of Aragon, Ga. also qualified to compete on the national level each of the last two years. Georgia’s 2017 state champ in the Small Business Management Plan category competed in Anaheim and Atlanta, respectively, the past two years. Mr. Carlile was also named the college’s G.O.A.L. Student of the Year in 2016.

Two other entries from GNTC placed in Anaheim. Selena Spivey of Dalton placed eighth in the nation in Computer Animation. Also, the team of Ronal Bueso and Jonathan Herrera, both from Dalton, earned a Top-15 finish in the Business Sustainability category. Four years ago, Dalton's Mario Trejo earned the college’s first national title at the PBL Competition, taking home top honors in the Justice Administration category.

After qualifying only six students for the national event last year, GNTC advisors Dione Waddington, Patty Hart, and Brittny Burns guided 11 students to qualify for this year’s trip to the west coast to compete against the best. The University of Florida, the University of Alabama, the University of Maryland, the University of Utah, the University of Nebraska, Duquense Universtiy, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and many others from across the United States qualified along with Georgia Northwestern to compete at this year’s event. As a state, Georgia qualified 79 students for the competition.

Other members of the 2017 Phi Beta Lambda competition team were Cage Gary of Ringgold; Amanda Teeters of Chickamauga; Nicholas Post of LaFayette; Allie Long of Ringgol; Brettd Notabartolo of Trion; and Miguel Ramirez of Rome. Ramirez was GNTC’s 2017 G.O.A.L. Student of the Year award winner.

More than 1,800 of America’s best and brightest college students traveled to Southern California for this year’s event. The Phi Beta Lambda National Leadership Conference showcased participants from across the United States. As well as participating in more than 60 business and business-related competitive events, participants attended a week-long conference to enhance their business skills and expand their networks.

Cleveland High School Raider Outreach Day will be Tuesday. As the underclassmen take the ACT or Pre-ACT, the entire senior class will be providing a day of service throughout the community. The seniors will be volunteering at elementary schools, nursing homes, churches, the Greenway as well as Life Bridges. For more information contact Whitney Harden, ... (click for more)

Lee University School of Music will welcome Allen Perriello to campus on Monday at 3 p.m. for a masterclass in the Curtsinger Music Building Choral Rehearsal Room. Mr. Perriello is in his first season as head of music at Minnesota Opera and director of the Young Artists Program at The Glimmerglass Festival. He has served as the head of music and director of the Marion ... (click for more)

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Not a one of you has ever heard of a lady named Megan Jones Bell. But, because our state legislature is determined to allow California’s unique brand of crazies to pull Tennessee down to its loathsome level, our state lawmakers probably never will. Megan is a paragon in the field of mental health strategy – i.e., ‘What's the smartest thing for state government to do right ... (click for more)